Wednesday, December 9, 2009

This cake is a 10. It's a slightly denser, heavier chocolate cake than a devil's food because of the large quantity of butter. But it's not as dense as a pound cake and honestly, it's just right! You actually serve it chilled, which I found unusual for a chocolate layer cake. The chocolate frosting is amazingly rich, light in color, and with a strong brown sugar, even caramel flavor to it. Not your normal chocolate frosting. Makes an incredible birthday cake, and that's how I used it. Now I just need to find more birthdays to celebrate.

Me bringing the cake to the birthday girl

My Aunt Debbie, the birthday girl! The cake was a well kept secretand my aunt had no idea I had baked it for her...until this moment!

1. Bring the brown sugar, cream, chocolate, and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and melt the chocolate and butter. Adjust the heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened and smooth. Remove from the heat. Pour into a baking sheet with sides and use a rubber spatula to spread evenly. Refrigerate for 2 hours, until chilled thoroughly.

Make the chocolaty fudge cake:

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly coat two 9 x 1 1/2-inch cake pans with some of the melted 2 teaspoons butter. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment or wax paper, then lightly coat the paper with more melted butter.

3. In a sifter, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Sift onto a large piece of parchment or wax paper.

4. Melt the chocolate and the remaining 8 ounces butter in the top of a double boiler or in a medium glass bowl in a microwave oven; stir until smooth.

5. Place the granulated sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on medium-high for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened and pale yellow in color. Add the melted chocolate and mix on low to combine, about 15 seconds. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the dry ingredients; mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix on low to combine, about 15 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter until thoroughly combined.

6. Immediately divide the batter into the prepared pans, spreading evenly with a rubber spatula. Bake on the center rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each layer comes out clean, 28 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans at room temperature for 15 minutes. Invert the cake layers onto cake circles or cake plates. Carefully peel the paper away from the bottom of each layer. Refrigerate the cake layers, uncovered, for at least 2 hours before assembling.

7. Transfer the chilled fudge to the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on high for 2 minutes until lighter in color (a very mellow chocolate brown) and slightly fluffy.

8. Remove the cake layers from the refrigerator. Use an icing spatula to evenly and smoothly spread 2 1/2 cups of the icing over the top and sides of one of the inverted layers (baked top down). Place a second layer, baked top up, on the icing and gently press it into place. Evenly and smoothly spread the remaining icing onto the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 1 hour before slicing and serving.

9. Heat the blade of a serrated knife under hot running water and wipe dry before cutting each slice. Serve immediately.

Step-by-Step in Pictures

To make the cake, melt chocolate and butter together...Sift together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl...Blend together the sugar and eggs until pale yellow in a mixer...Add the melted chocolate and mix...Add the dry ingredients gradually...Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix just until combined...Here's your cake batter!Divide the batter evenly among two round cake pans...Bake the cakes for 28-30 minutes at 325 degrees F...To make the frosting, heat together the brown sugar, cream, chocolate, and butter...Let simmer for 15 minutes...When the mixture is completely thickened and smooth, pour into a baking pan with sides and chill for 2 hours...When the frosting mixture has chilled, scrape it out of the baking pan and into a stand mixer...Whip up the frosting until light brown in color and thick and spreadable...To assemble the cake, first place strips of wax paper under the first cake layer so frosting doesn't get all over the serving plate...Cover the first layer with frosting...Add the second cake layer...Frost the top and sides of the cake...Sooooo good!

What a nice person you are to make such a chocolicious cake for a birthday celebration. That IS interesting that it's served chilled. I bet it's because of the large amount of cream in the frosting. Mmmm, cream, frosting, chocolate. Those are my major food groups. ;)

About Marni

I’ve always loved baking. I come from a family of amazing bakers going back many generations. And I have two large bookcases in my living room, both of them filled only with my 1000 cookbooks. I even considered it as a career and almost attended pastry school in San Francisco after college. But I went the route of digital marketing and got a Masters in Communication Management from the Annenberg School for Communication at USC. So baking is just a hobby. But I take hobbies seriously! And getting to moonlight as a baker is a great thing. I’m very happy.